The field of this disclosure relates generally to a gas turbine engine and, more particularly, to a gas turbine engine having a variable pitch fan.
Conventional gas turbine engines include a fan and a core arranged in flow communication with one another. The fan provides air to the core, and the core compresses the air provided by the fan and subsequently mixes it with fuel for igniting the mixture to generate a flow of combustion gas through a turbine. The combustion gas powers the turbine, which in turn drives the fan to generate thrust for the engine.
At least some known gas turbine engines utilize a variable pitch fan. However, the mechanical components associated with varying the pitch of the fan blades can result in the rotating nacelle of the engine being quite large, and a larger rotating nacelle can lower the efficiency of the airflow provided to the core. More specifically, in many known engines, the minimum size of the rotating nacelle is typically dictated by the number and/or length of the fan blades, and the componentry for varying the pitch of the fan blades tends to grow the rotating nacelle from such a minimum size. It is therefore desirable to configure a variable pitch fan with a more compact componentry for varying the pitch of the fan blades, thereby enabling the engine to have a smaller rotating nacelle, a higher fan blade count, and a lower fan blade length.